Press Releases
June 21, 2012
Contact: Daphne Yarbrough-Jones
Public Relations Manager
Telephone: (910) 755-1755
FAX: (910) 754-5499
E-mail: dyarbrough@atmc.coop
ATMC AWARDS $25,000 IN COMMUNITY GRANTS
Shallotte, NC -- ATMC has awarded Community Connections grant funds totaling $25,000 to 17 organizations serving Brunswick County. The cooperative recently honored its seventh annual community grant recipients with a reception at ATMC's corporate headquarters in Shallotte. Representatives from each organization talked about the programs for which the grant funds were rewarded and how these grants will positively impact area residents.Those receiving funding were:
Arts & Culture
-Brunswick Arts Council – Jon Tait (Arts Camp for Children): enable local youth to engage in visual, performing and multi-cultural arts
Emergency and Disaster Planning
-American Red Cross – Vickie LaBelle (Disaster Response & Preparedness Education): educational materials for outreach programs and emergency assistance for local families
Health & Human Services
-Brunswick Adult Medical Clinic – Denise Donnelly (Beyond Basics): program to help cover the costs associated with diagnostic testing, lab, x-rays, consultations and other services that go beyond basic healthcare for the working poor and uninsured patients of Brunswick County
-Brunswick Family Assistance – Lora Moree (Utilities Assistance): program to assist clients with emergency funds for utilities bills and deposits throughout Brunswick County
-Hope Harbor Home – Lynn Carlson (HVAC Replacement): replace malfunctioning, 20-year-old shelter HVAC system
-New Hope Clinic – Sheila Roberts (Diabetic Care for the Uninsured): program to help cover the costs of diabetic supplies and medications for low-income and uninsured diabetics
-South Brunswick Interchurch Council – Mary Pritchard (Food Pantry): a nondenominational operation serving clients through the Food Pantry in Shallotte, working with the Food Bank of North Carolina to serve clients in Southern Brunswick County
Civic & Miscellaneous
-Brunswick County Habitat for Humanity – Deanna Antonio (Hammering for Heroes/Ramps & Rails for Vets): program to make home repairs and/or build access ramps for low-income local veterans
-Brunswick County Literacy Council – Mari-Lou Wong Chong (What’s Next?): multi-level Phonics program to assist English as a Second Language (ESL) students to achieve competency
-Brunswick Housing Opportunities – Montrel Miller (Home Preservation Committee/Keeping Our Seniors Safe): work with Brunswick Senior Resources (BSRI) to reduce substandard housing for elderly and disabled residents
-Brunswick Pink Angels – Mary Earp (Brunswick Pink Angels): assist with the cost of comforting items for tote bags for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients in Brunswick County
-Comfort Socks – Theresa Tese (Cover With Comfort): work with Brunswick County Streetreach, Inc. to distribute socks to the homeless during the winter months
-Community Boys & Girls Club – Tina Fobes (Eat Healthy, Play More): address childhood obesity by teaching local youth about proper nutrition and encouraging increased physical activity
-The Kiwanis Club of Southport-Oak Island: Peggy McDonald (Young Children Priority One): encourage reading at an early age by providing books for pre-school children in child development centers and for distribution to families for use at home
-Marine Corps League/Detachment 1005 – Howard Boyd, Sr. (Keeping Every Youth Successful/KEYS): work with Shallotte Middle School administrators and School Resource Officer to provide mental, moral and physical development and encourage a drug-free lifestyle
-Ocean Isle/Sunset Beach Lions Club – John Horton (Juvenile Diabetic Insulin Pump Aid): provide aid to purchase insulin pumps for Type I Juvenile Diabetics
-WAVES4K.I.D.S. – Kay Wolf (Stuff’n School Book Bags 2012): provide school supplies to disadvantaged children in Foster Care and Child Protective Services
The ATMC Grant Program began in 2006, and the majority of the cooperative’s corporate contributions are now given directly through the grant program. The grants awarded recently will impact a diverse group of individuals across Brunswick County of all ages, races and sexes, and touch on a broad range of health and human service needs among the county's rapidly-growing population.
Allen Russ, CEO/General Manager of ATMC, commented, "I always look forward to hearing your stories and learning how your organizations are making such a difference in our community. ATMC is honored to serve you, and we hope these contributions help you to continue your good work. Thank you for all that you do for Brunswick County and its citizens."
To-date, ATMC has awarded $295,000 in community and education grants. ATMC will also be awarding education grants through its Smart Connections program in the fall of this year. Smart Connections applications and packages will be distributed after school reconvenes and will be accepted beginning late August. Up to $30,000 will be issued through these grants, which will focus on education needs in our county's schools as well as any pre-school education-related issues.
For more information on ATMC’s grant program or to obtain a copy of program guidelines or an application, visit ATMC’s website at www.atmc.net, or stop by the cooperative’s corporate headquarters at 640 Whiteville Road in Shallotte or the Customer Service Center at The Village at Sunset Beach.
PICTURED (l-r): Jeanette Serens (Brunswick Arts Council); Lynn Carlson (Hope Harbor Home); Sheila Roberts (New Hope Clinic); Theresa Tese (Comfort Socks); Tina Fobes (Community Boys & Girls Club); and Mary Earp (Brunswick Pink Angels). (2nd row, standing): Jamie Milliken (ATMC Director); Janice Gore (ATMC Director); Vickie LaBelle (American Red Cross); Denise Donnelly (Brunswick Adult Medical Clinic); Lora Moree (Brunswick Family Assistance); Mari-Lou Wong Chong (Brunswick County Literacy Council); Mary Pritchard (South Brunswick Interchurch Council Food Pantry); Kay Wolf (WAVES4K.I.D.S.); Allen Russ (ATMC CEO/General Manager); (3rd row, standing): Leon Applegate (Brunswick Arts Council); Chris Page (Kiwanis Club of Southport-Oak Island); John Horton (Ocean Isle/Sunset Beach Lions Club); Howard Boyd, Sr. (Marine Corps League Detachment 1005); Montrel Miller (Brunswick Housing Authority); School Resource Officer Shane Gunnell, (Shallotte Middle School); James Rewalt (Brunswick County Habitat for Humanity)